seems like more shifting will happen in old time vs irish.  Or should i say in the way of performance videos on youtube... ive seen more old time.

obviously bluegrass shifting is very common.

That is some beautiful playing! 

havent seen bluegrass fiddlers shifting?  thats weird cuz out of all the "folky trad" stuff out there theyll use the most. figured you knew some too.  maidens prayer good one to look at for bluegrass since youre on fiddlevideo.

i dont have any saved but foxhunters and grigsbys hornpipe a good one to look for in old time.   ashokan obviously but thatll be "called" scottish but to me fits. 

if you find some more post.   I dont know the exact videos let alone time in any but im pretty sure some of the above gets there.

granted... old time doesnt really need it but its out there.  

theres this one gentleman...Kenny Baker.

misnamed tuned...Foxchase..or Tennessee Mountain Foxchase.  Like i said the ones Ive seen are tucked away on youtube somewhere.  other than bluegrass not necessarily on fiddlevideo either.  couldve been an individuals youtube channel.   look at cross tuning vids.  it seems it was related to that and calico or devils tuning..

and probably wont be and extended time up in 4th position .. probably just a quick shift to third or even 2nd.

@ELCBK said
 

I've seen Kenny Baker shifting, just can't find anything 'Foxchase' with shifting right now - keeping an eye out. 

Will check out the cross-tuning thread later. 

Found the The Love of the Isles video unusual, but I'm still trying to keep more shifting in mind - just in case it might make a passage for a fiddle tune easier, or maybe a good option for different voicing.

  

some other thoughts...

I think what a shift in a fiddle tune could prove handy for is vibrato.  We use open strings mostly, depending on how you look at it whether its by choice or habit or whether necessity.  So if someone wanted to use vibrato and a note was going to fall on an open string the 4th finger may be the one that would have to do the vibrato...depending on the player another finger may be easier so a shift would make sense.  Slow airrs really sound good played with vibrato, waltzes in old time/bluegrass like you pointed out another place it would work.  Even Kevin Burke/Martin Hayes players of that level will use vibrato in reels/jigs in place of ornaments and it still sounds Irish.

chord choices ( fingered double stops ) another reason and like you said, the voicing a player was wanting.  Does that player want a certain inversion, or does he want it to fall above or below the melody..that kind of thing.  One big reason with the blusey, jazzy type backing you find in bluegrass it used.  plus keys are more likely to drive in that style vs say Irish.  D,G and A fall nice in 1st position for most Irish stuff.  Same in old time.  Maybe a unison note to an open string would work easier shifting depending on what the octave melody note is youre wanting to double.  I could see that.. but then its the note following and whether it would be better just to use 4th finger.

So yeah being able to shift positions another technique that can be used.  I think there would need to be a reason and to me some of the above are cases where I feel its needed/useful.